Suggestopedia Teaching Methodology

Suggestopedia is a language
teaching method developed by
the Bulgarian psychologist,
Georgi Lozanov (see picture on
the right.) Like Community
Language Learning and the
Silent Way Method,
Suggestopedia is an innovative
method that promises great
effective language learning
results. Lozanov claimed that by
using this method one can teach
languages approximately three
to five times as quickly as
conventional methods.
The name of Suggestopedia is
from the words “ suggestion”
and “pedagogy .” It is a set of
learning recommendations
derived from Suggestology,
which Lozanov describes as “a
science … concerned with
systematic study of the
nonrational and/or non-
conscience influences” that
human beings are constantly
responding to. The method also
draws from insights from yoga
and the Soviet psychology. From
yoga it draws the importance of
relaxation of mind for maximum
retention of material. From
Soviet psychology Lozanov  took
the idea that

“all sudents can
be taught a given
subject matter at
the same level of
skill.” Jack C.
Richards and
Theodore S.
Rodgers (1986)

The main features of
suggestopedia are:

The use of music to relax
learners.

The furniture, decoration
and the arrangement of the
classroom.

Teacher’s authority. The
teacher plays a central  role
and he/she is the source of
all information.

In the classroom

The arrangements and the
physical  atmosphere in the
classroom are paramount for
making sure that the students
feel comfortable and confident.
The use of various techniques
including art and music, are
used by the trained teachers. In
the beginning, the lesson based
on Suggestopedia used to
consist of three phases :
deciphering, concert session
(memorization séance), and
elaboration. Later, it has
developed into four phases as
lots of experiments were done:
introduction, concert session,
elaboration, and production(cf
Lozanov’s siteweb).
Introduction: The teacher
teaches the material in “a
playful manner” instead of
analyzing Lexis and grammar
of the text in a directive
manner.

Concert session (active and
passive): in the active
session, the teacher reads
with special  intonation as
selected music is played.
Occasionally, the students
read the text together with
the teacher, and listen only
to the music as the teacher
pauses in particular
moments. The passive
session is done more calmly.

Elaboration: The students
sing classical songs and play
games while “the teacher
acts more like a consultant
Production: The students
spontaneously speak and
interact in the target
language without
interruption or correction.

Criticism:

Suggestopedia has been
criticised for a number of
reasons:

It is not  a practical method
as teachers face the problem
of the availability of music
and comfortable chairs.

Lozanov refers in a number
of occasions to the
importance of memorization,
excluding any reference to
comprehension and creative
problem solving. In fact
language is not only about
the power of the mind to
memorize.
It’s about
understanding, interacting
and producing novel
utterances in different
unpredictable situations.

Advantages

In spite of all these
disadvantages, some tenets of
Suggestopedia have been
accepted and adapted by
teachers worldwide.
Through Suggetopedia we
learn to trust the power of
the mind.
We also learn that
deliberately induced states of
relaxation can be valuable at
times in the classroom.
We can also benefit from the
use of music to get students
sit back and relax.
These are some of the
contributions of Suggestopedia
that teachers may weigh and
adapt to different situations.